World of Sport

Pregnant ice hockey fan ignores contractions to watch end of match

Marian Hossa had a big night for the Chicago Blackhawks in their Game 5 victory over the Minnesota Wild on May 9, scoring twice as his club moved on to the second round. But as it turns out, his impact may have gone beyond that.

Hossa's second period goal, which was a big one, as it pushed the Hawks' lead to three, may have induced labour in one fan. Midway through the middle frame, Donna Lebano, eight months pregnant, started having contractions.

But the diehard Hawks fan wasn't going to miss an elimination game just to give birth to some baby.

"No way was I leaving," Lebano said in a statement. "We are a Hawks family. I had to see the end of the game."

And really, she gave birth to one of these things a year and a half ago. The Hawks haven't been to the second round since 2010. So, you know, priorities.

Out with her three sisters for a girls' night, Lebano ignored her contractions through the end of the second, the intermission, and the third period before being rushed to the hospital to give birth to her second child sometime around the handshake line. From ABC News:

Just hours later, she gave birth to a son, Owen Michael. Owen weighs 6 pounds, 5 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing fine- and already ready to cheer on the Hawks in the next playoff game.

"Owen is such a great baby, very patient. We're doing fantastic and we think of Owen as Hossa's hat trick. Two goals in a playoff game and a baby delivered moments after getting to the hospital is an epic hat trick," Lebano said.

I'm not so sure we can call that a hat trick. It seems like more of an assist to me. But either way, since Hossa picked up another one of those in the third, we'll call it a four-point night for the big Slovak. Way to deliver, guy.

"Nothing like an exciting Hawks game to induce labour," one of Lebano's sisters told WGN. You heard her. Not acupuncture. Not pineapple. Not even sex. Nothing.